Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) Stock Falls 8.8% – Should You Sell?

Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD)’s stock price was down 8.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $16.51 and last traded at $16.3320. Approximately 4,869,588 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 23,296,148 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.91.

Applied Digital News Summary

Here’s some of the latest news about APLD:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong results from customer CoreWeave—including improved revenue guidance and signs of pricing power—revived optimism about AI data-center demand and lifted APLD and other sector stocks in the prior session. That industry tailwind may help sentiment, though it has not erased recent weakness. Article: Applied Digital Could Be 71% Undervalued
• Positive Sentiment: A proposed Louisiana financing agreement could allow up to $4.6 billion in bonds supported by Meta’s lease for an Applied Digital AI campus. If completed, this could help fund campus development; the agreement is still proposed. Article: Meta’s Lease Could Back Up to $4.6 Billion in Louisiana Bonds
• Neutral Sentiment: A construction-technology documentary featuring Applied Digital highlights real-time verification and delivery milestones at a data-center campus. It showcases execution capabilities, but does not announce a new contract or revenue. Article: XYZ Reality and McGough Documentary

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Rothschild & Co Redburn set a $22.00 price target on Applied Digital and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Applied Digital in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up from $50.00) on shares of Applied Digital in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut Applied Digital from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Sunday, August 30th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $35.00 target price on shares of Applied Digital and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.42.

Applied Digital Stock Down 3.6%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $22.44 and a 200 day moving average of $30.56. The firm has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.54 and a beta of 5.58. The company has a quick ratio of 2.56, a current ratio of 2.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.90.

Applied Digital (NASDAQ:APLD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 7th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.30) by $0.29. Applied Digital had a negative return on equity of 27.21% and a negative net margin of 51.28%. The business had revenue of $300.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.03) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 367.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Applied Digital Corporation will post -2.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Applied Digital

In related news, President Jason Gechen Zhang acquired 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $18.86 per share, for a total transaction of $5,658,000.00. Following the purchase, the president directly owned 2,839,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,547,821.22. The trade was a 11.81% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Wes Cummins bought 55,803 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $18.04 per share, for a total transaction of $1,006,686.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,874,453 shares in the company, valued at $105,975,132.12. This trade represents a 0.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 9.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Applied Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Applied Digital during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Applied Digital by 244.3% in the 1st quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Applied Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at about $56,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in Applied Digital by 691.8% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,342 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Applied Digital in the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. 65.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Applied Digital

Applied Digital Corporation develops, builds and operates data centers designed for high-density computing. Its facilities support digital asset mining as well as high-performance computing workloads, including artificial intelligence applications, and the company provides hosting and infrastructure services to customers in these sectors. The company also offers cloud services that give customers access to computing capacity for demanding workloads. Its data center operations are focused in the United States, including facilities in North Dakota.